


Don't Let the Curtain Fall

by Chia_P



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 03:50:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9530312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chia_P/pseuds/Chia_P
Summary: The struggles of a second blond boy embody many of the things he wants to change and others that he wants to protect. From afar, Keito observes Nazuna's journey.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I would not recommend reading this fic if you haven't read Marionette, Milky Way, Magicians, and KenkaFes. It draws heavily from those without stopping to explain. 
> 
> This story is dedicated to @penkipenguin on Twitter, who inspired it and brings me joy with all of her insightful opinions and meta analyses.

One moment, he is watching as the unit on stage, Valkyrie, performs something more like a piece of art in motion than an idol show. The next moment, there's no music, just one voice singing. There are three people on stage, but there's only one voice. After a few uncomfortable seconds, two more hesitantly join it. They aren't singing in harmony, and the highest one sounds like an instrument that has been neglected long enough that the desperate need for tuning echoes in every note. All three faces project different aspects of distress. Along with panic, there is regret in the smallest boy's eyes, the source of which he feels he can not truly understand, even though he has a few guesses as to its source.

Someone who knows Marie Antoinette the way his friend, the figure head of the upheaval, does must also know the price of revolution. One public execution has become three. He has always known the story would be written in a manner not dissimilar to this, but all he can do now is hope that souls will not be shattered with dreams cracking apart in front of him. He knows he could never have accounted for every variable. An author has complete control over characters, not people. Despite that, this is not and would never be what he wants. If the price of change is the loss of the human side of idols, is he really doing this the right way-destroying in another the very thing he wants to save in his friend? He slides his glasses up his nose and tamps down his guilt. Deciding he's seen quite enough, Keito Hasumi averts his eyes from the stage and exits the auditorium.

~~~~~

He hears that the blonde boy is leaving. The puppet is trying his best to cut his strings, and it's as if the puppet master is bleeding out from the wound. He has to rewrite this. He has to show some kind of mercy that is coming all too late. He should have never let someone else change the story he was writing, but he sometimes struggles to say no to Eichi, especially when his hands are too full to reach for his pen. The five antagonists in his story once again become three, but shattered porcelain will never be the same. He prays that he's wrong and that, rather than porcelain, the cracks are in an egg shell-something meant to break. If Nazuna Nito really is stepping away, hopefully it will lead to his growth rather than to a pile of rubbish, never to shine in the spotlight again.

~~~~~

He hears timid footsteps approach him, as he tries to study in the library. The footsteps pause a few feet away and a quiet voice barely reaches him.

"Hey..."

Keito isn't making eye contact but he can clearly identify the owner. Whether Nazuna is speaking quietly due to their location or his vocal capacity, Keito does not know. He answers without taking his eyes from his book, more from guilt than desire to keep working. "Hello..."

"I know you didn't mean for it to turn out this way."

The lack of preamble surprises him, and Keito finally looks up, determined to give his schoolmate the eye contact he feels he owes the small boy. "I just...Eichi...he..." He doesn't quite have the words to talk about what happened with Valkyrie. 

"Yeah, I heard." The pause in the blond's words speaks volumes. Not only had he heard, but he'd even joined the Broadcasting Committee so that no one else would suffer the same fate on his watch. "I don't think he knew it would turn out quite the way it did."

The dark haired boy wants to say something about how he had never anticipated his friend's actions and how he feels he should have. They've known each other for so long, and yet it sometimes feels as if they communicate like mere acquaintances, never quite on the same level. Just a few words took everything off script. He knows an explanation serves no purpose by now, so he stays quiet.

Nazuna takes a deep breath before continuing, "Itsuki had been getting more and more stressed before...that show."

"Oh....how is he?" Whether he was asking out of politeness or concern, he doesn't know.

The other boy frowns. "I'm not sure...I...I'm stepping away."

A look of surprise crosses Keito's features. "You're what?"

The smaller boy bites his lip and pauses before continuing. "I...I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I need a change. I want to sing from my heart and make people smile."

So the rumors are true. "Oh...I hope you can get that chance." He doesn't know if saying that is enough. Saying 'I hope you can shed your past regrets and be free' seems entirely too personal and presumptuous, but he would mean it with all of his heart.

It's a relief when Nazuna manages to smile. "Thanks. I do too."

~~~~~

The paperwork for a new unit crosses his desk. Three first years, greener than the many trees on the school grounds, want to start a unit with a cute image. He later does a double take when the name 'Nazuna Nito' appears on subsequent forms. The boy hasn't officially left his old unit, but Keito lets it slide rather than reopening tender wounds that have barely begun to heal. He feels that it's the least he can do for the blond. Maybe, with these kids, he really can stand on stage with a genuine smile.

~~~~~

Keito is coming down from his adrenaline rush backstage. He smiles encouragingly at Nazuna as Akatsuki exits and Ra*bits prepares to take the stage. Suddenly, he hears calls of "please don't leave!" and realizes all too late that the audience is exiting. He clenches his fists and continues to the dressing room with Kuro and Souma, his features carefully schooled to not show his sadness. He tells himself that the fault lies in the system, not with him. The very idea feels like a desperate dash away from responsibility. He knows he played a major role in creating the current structure. Akatsuki's leader believes in being held accountable for one's actions and is disgusted with himself so much that he almost bows his head as he strides away, the crimson in his uniform feeling more like bloodstains than dyed fabric.

~~~~~

It's Tanabata, and Ra*bits is Akatsuki's challenger. Keito has never seen Nazuna look so alive and happy as he does when he's performing with those kids. He's watched the other boy put in long hours practicing with them, encouraging them, planning out training regimens, and even trying to make them cute lunches. Now, here they are-shining. They aren't a perfectly polished gem, but they've improved so much, and those kids are just as good for Nazuna as he is for them. Watching the blond strive to become a leader has been quite a sight.

Their round is over. Akatsuki has won, but Ra*bits put up a wonderful fight. Even with their loss, Keito can see the joy and exhilaration on Nazuna's face. The lights shining in his eyes could rival two stars in the Milky Way. Keito is almost relieved when the Student Council needs help and he can leave the stage after the whole arrow debacle. He's also happy that Ra*bits will get another chance to perform, that is, until he finds out what Eichi plans to do.

He and Eichi have a very complicated relationship. Keito cares deeply for him and feels the affection is more or less mutual, but loving someone doesn't mean he won't stand up if they're out of line. He can't turn his back this time. Eichi, as he had already assumed, doesn't take kindly to it and threatens him. The dark haired boy won't back down and is relieved to see Valkyrie make their appearance. It's almost like seeing ghosts, and he once again doesn't even pretend to know what Nazuna must be feeling. It almost seems as though one public execution might have just been exchanged for another. Keito isn't sure if he takes comfort in knowing he's not the only one struggling to understand and be understood by someone for whom he deeply cares, since he's always advised people to not share in his misery. Needing to leave to attend to Student Council business is almost a blessing, as he can feel the beginning of a headache. He tiredly pinches the bridge of his nose as he moves through the crowd.

~~~~~

He's standing onstage with Akatsuki. They're about to compete with fine to determine not only the fate of Akatsuki but also the fate of his friendship with Eichi. Keito feels as if it's also in part a battle for the humanity of all idols. He wants to protect their souls rather than having to give them a proper send off into the next world the way his family has for generations. He thinks of Nazuna growing more than he will ever realize while practicing diligently with his juniors, Morisawa boisterously encouraging and supporting his new members, Mao trying to change the system with his rebellious friends, and Eichi, who needs to know that he doesn't have to leave his soul behind to reach his dreams. Keito desperately wants them all to smile. Gathering up every bit of strength and resolve within him, he draws in a deep breath and begins to sing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought. I tweet @usanazunii if you want to chat, suggest ideas, or cry over fictional idol boys. I also combine Texts from Last Night with Ensemble Stars @EnStarsFromLN and am only a little sorry for what I post there sometimes.


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